Emergency department referral for organ donation: more organ donors and more organs per donor

BackgroundThis study sought to determine whether early referral from the emergency department (ED) would increase the number of organ donors and the number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD).MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients referred to a single organ procurement organization for a period of 60 months.ResultsPatients referred for organ donation evaluation from the ED were more likely to become organ donors than patients referred from the intensive care unit (19.3% vs 5.2%, P < .001). ED referrals had a greater number of OTPD than those referred from the intensive care unit (mean 3.79 vs 3.16, P = .024), even after adjusting for the higher proportion of ED referrals who were trauma patients (P = .001).ConclusionsReferral for organ donation from the ED is associated with an increased likelihood of organ recovery and with an increased number of OTPD.